Will and Sonny have already dealt with varying degrees of homophobia plenty of times. We've seen T's homophobia at two different times in their storyline -- first when Sonny arrived in Salem, and again after Will came out of the closet. We've seen Lucas' homophobia. And now we're seeing Nick's homophobia, which is worse than any of the aforementioned characters' homophobia was.

In fact, one could argue that homophobia has been a central focus of Will and Sonny's storyline from the moment that they started dating each other. Lucas' homophobia started the same day that Will and Sonny shared their first real kiss, then Lucas and Nick's homophobia was actually being shown at the same time on-screen, so when Lucas finally stopped being a jerk, Nick just immediately took Lucas' place. There was no break in between, and there's no end in sight yet. I don't see how anyone could possibly accuse Days of being too "after-school special", unless they're looking for Days to say that it's okay for someone to be homophobic, which simply isn't going to happen, because it's not okay.

Yes, it would have made perfect sense for Caroline to be the homophobic character, since she has always been religious, and many people use religion to justify their homophobia. (Eric is another obvious choice for a homophobic character.) It also would have been far more hurtful to Will, since Caroline isn't just some random cousin. However, I'm very glad that they didn't go that route (because it would have destroyed her character), and I don't really see how her behavior during the possession storyline is the least bit relevant, unless the implication is supposed to be that if you fear the devil, you should also fear gay people.

Now, as for the debate about whether Nick is a necessary aspect of the story or should be removed from it...I can only speak for myself, but I think that Nick was a necessary part of the baby storyline (the one that the writers chose to tell, anyway), and I want him to be removed from the show at the conclusion of the storyline (or, at the very least, be removed from Will and Sonny's orbit and be shunned for his homophobic views -- seriously, if the writers don't eventually let characters like Julie, Maggie, Hope, Caroline, and Victor realize that Nick is a homophobe and call him out on it, I'm going to be pissed).

I don't think that it is necessary for homophobia to always be a part of Will and Sonny's storyline. It's already been a part of their story for the better part of the past year. There are plenty of other good, juicy, dramatic storylines that the writers could give to Will and Sonny that have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with homophobia. That's why Thursday's episode was so refreshing.